i am consistently blown away by each entry in this series.
every post is full of this transparent honesty that brings my heart joy.
seeing women come together to help banish this idea that “lovely” is defined in one way is blowing my mind. we are all lovely – no matter what trial or joy we are facing.
<3
today you get to know kiki a little better. her blog | in its time | is a source of honesty, love, beautiful images, and God-centered perspective.
i have had the privilege of not only learning more about her through her blog, but growing a beautiful and unique friendship with her. i am so blessed to know her – and i am so blessed to introduce her to you today.
why is it hard for us to embrace vulnerability?
I think it’s hard for us to embrace vulnerability because we all too often like to shove our vulnerabilities in the back of our mind, putting them in a place where dust can cover them up. You know, out of sight, out of mind? Embracing vulnerability means accepting and admitting that we have weaknesses. And in a world that looks down on weakness, being vulnerable is pretty much the last thing on everyone’s to-do lists.
I’ve felt exposed and vulnerable many a time, but one of the times I remember most vividly happened when I was in middle school, waiting for the bus to pick us up. I was standing and chatting outside the school with my friends and a girl from my class came up and started whispering and giggling to a so-called friend standing next to me. She then asked me how old I was. When I told her, she started laughing and whispered to the people around me about a white hair she spotted on my head.
It was completely embarrassing and if it wasn’t for a real friend who was standing with me and comforted me when the other girls left, I wouldn’t have made it home in one piece. To be honest, that experience has left a scar and I’ve since never felt completely comfortable with my hair down since.
what makes you feel lovely?
You know, I actually really love that word. Lovely to me is different from beauty. It’s not associated with magazine models or clear complexions. It’s not associated with a number on a scale or high-end makeup or perfume. To me, lovely is associated with love and happiness, joy and confidence. So what makes me feel lovely? Well, I’d have to say friends, the kids I teach, and all of the other passions I hold dear to my heart. It’s the things that I love that make me feel my loveliest.
what internal struggles, if any, do you face when you accept that you are lovely?
I often feel like telling myself that I’m lovely is a lie or an exaggeration. I’m not beautiful in the world’s standards so it’s always been a struggle for me to believe that I am. Even if people tell me that I am, I’ll say ‘thanks’ but will never really take it to heart. It’s hard to accept that I’m lovely when the world says I’m not. And it’s something that while I wish I could say I’ve overcome, I still haven’t.
It’s a struggle, but it’s blog posts like these that help me work through them.
share your thoughts on the “hollywood standard beauty”
The world tells us we’re beautiful when we’re red-carpet ready. When we’re perfected and have covered up our most unique attributes. We’re deemed beautiful when we’ve hidden our vulnerabilities—our ‘imperfections’ or flaws. That’s when the world tells us we’re our loveliest. It’s when we’re not our real selves. That’s when the world thinks we’ve hit perfection. And if you ask me, it hurts to acknowledge and live in a world that believes this lie.
share your thoughts on God’s standard of beauty.
God’s love and eye for beauty, however, is amazing. I sometimes forget that God not only created the most beautiful flowers in the world, the tallest mountains, and the vast oceans, but me, too. So if I believe that God’s creation is beautiful, I need to start believing that I am beautiful, too.
if you could speak to a group of middle & high school girls on the topic of being lovely & beautiful, what would you say?
As a teacher, the last thing I want is to teach my students that they’re not good enough—especially in the teenage years. I want my students and future kids to know that it doesn’t matter if they’ve got a zit the size of Mount Everest on their chin or a scar as long as the Nile River on their arm. It doesn’t matter because those things won’t last forever. Their heart and their soul will be with them as long as they’re alive and that’s what will keep them going.
You’ve got to focus on your inside. Because it’s when you feel and believe that you’re beautiful that you are truly beautiful—inside and out.
to see more of this series, click here.
feel free to grab the button and share it on your blog.
Kiki, you had so many good things to say!!! I especially found what you said about God having created not just the flowers, mountainns, and oceans, but also US to be helpful. And your words at the end about the heart and soul of a person being with them forever….It's a good reminder to be focused on those things because they actually matter!
ps…You're post got me thinking…When I think of people that I know, I don't think about what they look like, I think about who they are, how they use words, and how being around them makes me feel….I have a feeling I'm not alone in that. It might be good to stop and think, "How does who I am stand out to people when they think about me?"
Amy, I'm glad you decided to spread the series out, because reading something new about this every few weeks is REALLY great. It's like, I've had some time to digest the last post amd then you don't put up the next one until I'm ready for more! 🙂
I agree! This is a very good article and topic and something I am trying to instill in my almost 8-yr-old daughter. I want her to have a Godly, Biblical perspective of beauty and love. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to see Kiki's "You are Lovely" post. The answers to all of the questions are so spot on! She is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. These ideas…these thoughts are the kind that need to be taught to young girls about beauty. These thoughts are TRUTH. Gorgeous post, and gorgeous pictures. 🙂
Pretty sure Kiki is one of the wisest girls I know! For real. That definition of "lovely"?! That's awesome.
Such a great post! I love her definition of lovely. And that last picture is PERFECT!
Kiki, this is so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I loved your thoughts on God's standard of beauty. It is so easy to marvel at God's creation but then look at myself as far less beautiful.
this is so beautiful! what a great series, Amy! i love reading all of these posts!
Kiki,
This line…
"So if I believe that God's creation is beautiful, I need to start believing that I am beautiful, too."
…brought to mind a blog post I wrote a while back. And I've learned that when something randomly pops in my head I should share it. So here is the link to that post…
http://laurablogsagain.blogspot.com/2013/01/it-was-good.html
You are lovely AND beautiful. 🙂
Oh, Kiki. When I saw that you were this installment's host I just knew my mind was about to blown. This quote: "It's hard to accept that I'm lovely when the world says I'm not."
Just wow. You took the words right out of my mind about myself. I think this nearly every day, but your encouraging words broke those lies into a million pieces. Thank you so much! You ARE lovely and beautiful and you're right, our bodies won't last forever.
Thank you so much for this reminder, and thank you Amy for creating this beautiful series. Y'all are amazing!
This series is beautiful. I love the perspective. Thanks so much! Can't wait to continue following along!
Kiki- THANK YOU! I needed to hear so much of what you said in this post, and it was a huge encouragement to me!
Shout out to this post over on my blog today!
http://www.lovelydoesit.com
(I obviously love that word too!)
This series is beautiful. I love the perspective. Thanks so much! Can't wait to continue following along!
Kiki- THANK YOU! I needed to hear so much of what you said in this post, and it was a huge encouragement to me!
Shout out to this post over on my blog today!
http://www.lovelydoesit.com
(I obviously love that word too!)
This is such a beautiful post! Kiki is so lovely!
XOXO
Chelsea
http://www.anchorsaweighblog.com/
Beautiful series and beautiful Kiki! I love to see the diversity in these posts…it's so interesting to see the different things women struggle with. Like the hair thing, I never would have guessed–I think her hair is gorgeous! I learn so much from the wisdom of these ladies in each post. Thanks again, Amy for hosting this!
Nothing but beauty in this post! And so many encouraging words of wisdom! 🙂
I teared up a bit reading about how someone said something mean with she was little and she's never really felt comfortable letting her hair down since. We just don't think enough about how our words are impacting someone else for good or bad. (I clicked over to her blog from your last week, and I'm so glad I did. I love it!)